There are certain books that are forever a comfort to us; certain books whose beauty touches us, and demands a reread or two - if not just to capture the feeling of the first read, than perhaps to discover a deeper truth within it. To me, Horse's Neck is that book.

Horse's Neck is, as Townshend states in the forward, a search for beauty. In truth, it is more a search for a kiss. Throughout the stories within it, one sees the different forms that beauty and love can take - not all of them beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, but all strangely valid if sometimes disturbing. The book is a spiritual quest, a study of questions, and a surprisingly insecure search for validation. Every story is tinged with Townshend's gift for songwriting, for character and atmosphere.

This book is not for everyone. It is disturbing at points, and troubling. It takes a certain kind of person to truly grasp some of the emotions it evokes and the points that it makes. I can say that this book is for me - and for anyone who has felt truly out of place and inadequate. Like Quadrophenia not all of the themes it explores are comfortable, but isn't art meant to put us out of our comfort zone on occasion? ( )

Having wanted to read this short book for about 25 years I finally tracked down a copy and am impressed with the results.

Even though Pete Townshend is my favourite song writer I wasn’t sure I’d take to him stepping out of his usual line of work to write fiction. That said, he injects some of his own experiences into these short stories, which isn’t moving too far away from the creative genius that drove my favourite rock band The Who to success.

In fact, certain lyrics from Who & Townshend solo songs do appear here and there, or at least variations of them. Most notable are lyrics and references to the 1982 Who track “Athena”, which started life as a Pete Townshend demo named “Teresa”.

“Teresa”/“Athena” and one of the stories featured in “Horse’s Neck” are based on an episode of Pete’s life where he became infatuated with actress Theresa Russell. He goes into more detail about this in his 2012 biography “Who I Am”. As a diehard Who fan it’s always interesting to learn the background behind the songs I’ve loved for most of my life.

Having watched/listened to countless interviews with Pete over the years I expected to hear his voice in my head when reading “Horse’s Neck” but surprisingly I didn’t. This is a good thing, as it shows the strength of Pete’s writing ability, being capable of creating characters and narratives that feel separate from the author.

The tone of some of the stories reminded me of the atmosphere in Pete’s 1985 “White City” film. In short, the feeling is a mundane one, which is in complete contrast to Pete’s brilliant “White City” album. Because of the mundane feel to certain tales I’ve rated “Horse’s Neck” four stars instead of five.

Overall, an entertaining read by one of my rock ’n’ roll heroes. ( )

Incomprehensible. He should stick to Rock Operas. ( )